TransFormers: Masterpiece


	MP-01 Convoy/Optimus Prime Possibly the funkiest TransFormer ever, and almost certainly the largest incarnation of Optimus Prime, the Autobots' greatest hero. Believe it or not, this thing does transform, and into a very decent looking truck, too. In robot mode, he stands about 12" tall and is fully poseable, even down to the fingers (although the fingers themselves are not jointed, like Unicron's). There's a little button on the back of his head to make his mouth-plate move as if he's talking, and the chest opens up to reveal the (removable and openable) Matrix of Leadership. Communicators on both wrists open up to show portraits of Bumblebee (left wrist) and Starscream (right wrist). All the joints have very impressive piston arrangements to make them look more authentic, but they are essentially just decoration. It was designed to look as much like Optimus Prime in the original cartoon series as possible, and it succeeds very well. The transformation is complicated and uses a lot of trickery to replace the strange morphing quality of the cartoon version, but it works very nicely. Both truck and robot feel solid but, while this model is frequently advertised as being die-cast metal, it is - like the original - only part metal. As well as Prime's own blaster (see picture) the model comes with Megatron in gun form (including removable stock and silencer) and the energon axe seen in the cartoon series' pilot, Arrival From Cybertron
	MP-03 Starscream I have revised my opinion... When it first came out, MP-01 was awesome... but after a few more Binaltech releases, it started looking rather brick-like. Then the two Hybrid Style models came out and, at a fraction of the size, put MP-01 to shame (apart from THS-02's vehicle mode, which is terrible). Then MP-03 came along, as the first new mold in the line (MP-02 being a straight repaint of 01), and MP-01 is looking like a brick. Starscream is a scale model of the F-15 Eagle fighter plane - the same plane that the original was loosely based upon. At Masterpiece size, and with Masterpiece detailing, this thing improves on MP-01 in every way possible. Of course, some (whiney fanboys) have complained that the colour isn't Gen-1/ Show accurate, while others have complained that the colour simply isn't realistic (and I'd tend to agree, unless this plane was intended to be camoflaged at sea). Facing facts, though, this is an awesome replication of the plane (several people, when confronted with the model displayed in plane mode, could not believe it transformed), and a brilliant update of his robot mode. The only drawback is tha the intended position of the tailfins reduces the range of movement at the hips... though they can be mounted on the legs, for a more Gen-1 look I'd like to say this will be difficult to top, but pictures of MP-05 Megatron are already circulating on the internet, and he's looking pretty fantastic.
	MP-05 Megatron Confounding many, when TakaraTomy announced their fifth (technically third) Masterpiece mode, it was an upgrade to Megatron's original Generation 1 form - a Walther P-38. And what a massive upgrade it is. Taking elements of the original toy and mixing in elements of the TV series design, the end result is nothing short of amazing. Standing as tall as MP-01 (about 12"), this robot transforms into a slightly oversize but nevertheless accurate version of the very same handgun as the 20+ year old, ex-Microchange robot. How it does so is both very clever and very similar to the original. The only real downsides are that the legs seem very thin, and the gun sight/fusion cannon still manages to look oversized. That said, it does feature a superbright red LED, activated by a button on the side (one of the two focus knobs for the sight). Unfortunately, the electronics make his arm mounted weapon heavier than the rest of the robot, so it's almost impossible to get him to raise his arm with it attached. Still, the detail on the robot - and, for that matter, the gun - easily outweigh such minor problems. The upper torso and head are an almost perfect rendition of his look in the TV series, even down to having the gun barrel sticking up out of his back, rather than out under his chest, as per the Gen 1 toy. What's more, they've even managed to get the head on a ball joint, so he can look around. The model is also reasonably well articulated, but has an annoying tendency to overbalance, particularly when the fusion cannon is attached. It comes with several accessories - the handgun and light sabre from the animated movie, his energon mace from the TV series pilot episode, and a curious clear plastic creature called 'Kremzeek'
TransFormers Music Label
	Soundwave 'Playing Audio Player' Technically not of the Masterpiece line, but of TakaraTomy's new 'Music Label' line of electronic gizmoes, which includes the white Convoy with iPod speakers trailer and the Rumble/Frenzy earphones, Soundwave is an effective update of the Gen 1 original. There are two versions of ML Soundwave, this one (named 'Spark Blue') and a white one (named 'Sonic White'), with another one - a black Soundblaster version - to come later in the year. Once I'd decided to buy one of these, it was a simple choice to pick the blue version - authentic GeeWun look versus bland iPod white? Talk about a no-brainer. My only complaints would be that the head is modelled on the cartoon version of Soundwave, when either the Gen 1 model or even the Galaxy Force update offered far superior sculpts, and that the rearrangement of the leg transformation may offer more by way of poseablility, but the legs now look completely bland compared to the original. Still, if Reprolabels get round to producing a set of stickers for this little fellow, I'll be obliged to buy a set. Hopefully they'll add detail to the legs, for starters. It struck me as odd that they included three sets of fixed hands - one pair of closed fists, one pair designed to hold the handgun, and one pair designed to look like he was pushing the button on his left shoulder, to open his chest... Surely they could have created articulated hands instead? If Gundam kits of a similar size can have them, why not a TransFormers MP3 Player? ML Soundwave runs on a single AAA battery, and required a 1Gb MiniSD card for the music. He has only one play mode - straight through, in the order the files were copied to the card - and no shuffle play. Even so, this thing is a winner on nostalgia factor alone!